Thursday, July 28, 2016

Review – ‘Frostbitten Hearts’ by Arial Burnz

Blurb

Her ability to wield fire didn’t give Aideen the power to make Jack stay…

Jack was Aideen’s very breath. As a cusper Elemental, he was the air that fed her fire and the waters that cooled her soul. Born and bred in captivity by vampires for their magic, they sought shelter and love in each other’s arms. But when Jack’s family escapes the “nursery”, Aideen is ripped from her young lover’s arms. Her family refuses to risk the wrath of their captors, and she is forced to stay behind. Though Jack vows to return and free her, his promise is not easily kept. He and his grove liberate several nurseries in retaliation and, still, she cannot be found.

Ten years later, Aideen unexpectedly stumbles into the grove’s compound and back into Jack’s arms with news they have a child…and she is the bait for a trap. Time is of the essence. If they don’t return by sunset, their son will fall victim to the vampires.

Jack must return to the prison he risked his life to escape, but he will do anything to save his son and he is not about to lose the only woman who has possessed his soul and can melt his frozen heart.

Review

This spinoff
novella in the Bonded by Blood series focused on the Elementals, a race of
witches and mages. Though you don’t have to read the main books to understand
this one, I recommend doing so to get a better idea of the vamsyrians’ motivation
into why they tortured the Elementals.

A small
group of vamsyrians (vampires) have kidnapped several Elementals to feed from
them, gain their magic, and to breed them to create a rare Spirit Elemental.
The vamsyrians have also forcibly turned humans into werewolves and they force
the wolves to do their bidding in exchange for the werewolf cure.

Jack and
Aideen (ages 19 and 17 respectively) are Elementals and they’re in love. He
controls the elements of air and water and she controls the element of fire. In
a botched rebellion, Jack and several other Elementals escaped their prison but
Aideen and several more are left behind. Flash forward ten years later. Evil
vamsyrian Rasheed freed Aideen from the nursery, the prison where the
Elementals are kept, and she must bring Jack back or her children will die.

The scenes
with Aideen and her sons brought tears to my eyes and I couldn’t stop grinning
over the long-awaited reunion with Jack and Aideen. I was so excited to read
the death of one of the villains, I won’t say whom, and I’m anxious to learn
how this will affect the main story line of the series.

I hoped
Broderick would’ve made a cameo appearance in the book but I understand why he
didn’t. He and Monika are ‘legends’, after all, to the Elementals. So fun to
read that! Maybe he and Jack will meet in the future? I hope so, but who knows!

I really
enjoyed this story and would like to read more about the Elementals. I noticed
a few typos but not enough to distract me and draw me away from the story. As
usual, the writing flowed well and I love the scenery descriptions and the
in-depth emotions.

Great
story!

5 Stars

Disclaimer
– Thank you, Arial Burnz, for sending me an ebook copy for an honest review. I
am not paid or compensated in any way, shape or form for this review. I will
not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.

About Me

Amber Daulton lives her life by that one belief even
though she normally isn’t so Zen.

Author of several novellas, she published her first book
in 2012 and hopes to publish countless more in the future. As a fan of
contemporary, paranormal and historical romance novels alike, she can’t get
enough of feisty heroines and alpha heroes. Her mind is a wonderland of
adventure, laughter and awesome ways of kicking a guy when he’s down. She
probably wouldn’t be too sane without her computer and notebooks. After all,
what’s a girl to do when there are people jabbering away in her head and it’s
hard to shut them up?Write!Nothing else works.